Stocks, oil slip with eyes on Greece; hospital shares jump

By Caroline Valetkevitch

3 Min Read

Traders are pictured at their desks in front of the DAX board at the Frankfurt stock exchange June 24, 2015.Remote/Staff

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets and oil prices edged lower on Thursday on lingering worries over Greece, though a Supreme Court ruling upholding tax subsidies drove U.S. hospital stocks to record highs.

Concerns over the possible impact of Greece's debt crisis on European energy demand weighed on crude prices along with weaker U.S. refined fuels.

A failure on Thursday to clinch a deal between Athens and its three creditor institutions - the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Union - set up a last-ditch effort to reach agreement on Saturday to avoid a default next week.

Without a deal by the weekend to unlock frozen aid, Greece is set to default on a crucial repayment to the International Monetary Fund next Tuesday.

U.S. transport stocks, considered a proxy for economic activity, unofficially entered correction territory, closing down 10.6 percent from a Dec. 29 closing high.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 75.71 points, or 0.42 percent, to 17,890.36, the S&P 500 lost 6.27 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,102.31 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 10.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,112.19.

EURO HOLDS

The euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar, even after data showed U.S. consumer spending recorded its largest increase in nearly six years on strong demand for automobiles and other big-ticket items.

The euro traded at $1.12020, off 0.03 percent on the EBS trading platform.

In the bond market, U.S. benchmark 10-year notes were down 6/32 to yield 2.39 percent compared with a yield of 2.37 percent late Wednesday.

GOLD, OIL SLIDE

Gold eased for the fifth straight session as traders awaited further news on Greece's negotiations with its creditors.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,172.95 an ounce.

Brent crude settled down 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $63.20 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell 57 cents, or almost 1 percent, to end at $59.70.

"It feels like the bulls have thrown in the towel in their pursuit of pushing WTI up to $65," said Scott Shelton, broker with ICAP in Durham, North Carolina.